Future Voices: The financial drain of running a car for young people

Volkswagen Golf 1.0 TSI BlueMotion puts out a respectable 113bhp and, while ideal for urban driving, can cope with motorways and country roads.

PA

I’ve been learning how to drive since September of last year, mainly because I’ve been told that being able to drive a car is a highly valuable skill that I’ll need in life, and while I certainly don’t doubt that fact, the idea of what comes after I pass doesn’t instil much excitement in me.

As I’ve gone through the process of learning to drive it has become increasingly apparent how much the upkeep of a car is, from actually buying and insuring it to sorting out the general teething issues that comes with regular use of a car.

For example, my brother got his driver’s licence a little over a year ago and his own car soon followed, second hand and years old.

It has so far cost him thousands of pounds to have it and keep it going to this point.

While I understand why the cost has to be so high, it’s incredibly disconcerting to someone trying to get a driver’s license, especially given the amount we already have to pay to learn to drive.

Receiving lessons is usually more than £20 each time, paying for a theory test is £23, and practical driving tests are near £70 each - considering how essential knowing how to drive is, it certainly seems rather exclusive, demanding such amounts.

The amount of pressure put on young people to drive is made ever bitterer by the cost mentioned, and in some cases deters people from wanting to learn.

Granted, most of the costs are justifiable, yet if the prices increase further (which, considering more technologically advanced cars being made, is highly plausible) there will be far fewer people who would want to know how to drive.

• What do you think? Is the cost of learning to drive too high? Leave your thoughts and comments below.